Autonomous vehicles are advantageous because they do not require an operator to physically operate the vehicle. One area where autonomous vehicles would be of benefit is where routine tasks are required of the vehicle. An example of a routine task is mowing grass. Having an autonomous vehicle that was capable of mowing grass is desired. This is especially true for locations with large amounts of grass that need to be maintained such as a golf course. However, constructing an autonomous vehicle to drive in a desired manner is a challenge. For example, using the golf course example, there are fairways and rough areas that differ in the height the grass is to be maintained. In the fairways the grass is cut low so that most balls can be easily played whereas in the rough areas the grass is maintained much longer or even uncut. An autonomous lawn mowing vehicle would have to be designed to detect and maintain the different types of areas. Successful detection of the edge between a fairway and a rough is one requirement that would be needed in constructing a successful autonomous lawn mower. Currently, fairways are maintained using manually operated lawn mowers.
For the reasons stated above and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for an autonomous vehicle with an effective vision edge detection system.